Harmony
by Cordelia Rose
Summary: Story dedicated to musicnlyrics. Merlin, maid and best friend to the king, is slightly suspicious of the visiting nobles from a magic-loving kingdom. Can she figure out if they are truly up to something dark before it's too late? Especially since her life's just got that little bit better, thanks to a certain knight. fem!Merlin/Percival. Post season 4, before season 5.
1. Chapter 1

**_Chapter 1_**

**_Warning/s: None really. Set post-season 4 but before season 5 so as long as you've seen up to 4x13 you should be fine._**

**_A/N: Dedicated to musicnlyrics who's my 500th ever reviewer. As a reward she gets a story written for her with her ideas and general outline. Big shout out to her, because this story wouldn't ever have started without her. That being said and done, please enjoy the chapter and favourite and follow and review if you want to!_**

**_Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin, and that's probably a good thing for the entire viewing population._**

* * *

A couple of new maids passed Merlin, eyes widening as they took in her baggy shirt and trousers, complete with navy neckerchief. Evidently they hadn't heard about her infamous fashion sense yet. She simply carried on walking, peering over the top of the stack of Arthur's armour so she could actually see. The now gossiping women turned the corner, and Merlin heard squeals and high-pitched apologies as they ran into someone. Someone male, by the sound of it. More squealing followed as the deep voice told them 'no worries, m'ladies, it's fine'. Merlin rolled her eyes as she imagined the two blonde airheads curtsying and batting their eyelids.

"Merlin!" Oh, joy. It was Thomas, the head of servants. Merlin guessed that he could be considered handsome – and was by most maidservants (and a few of the manservants) – in the castle with his rugged good looks, consisting of mahogany, curly locks and hazel eyes, complete with a tall, muscular build. To be honest, for all of his sweet lines and charming gazes, he was hiding an absolute prat underneath. An absolute prat who just had to be utterly fixated with her. Not Eliza, the kitchen girl who wore short skirts and low cut tops and threw herself onto both servants and knights like a leech. No, her, plain old Merlin, who had next to no figure showing at any time, and who was considered ugly – by herself, that was.

"Thomas! I haven't seen you for a month!" _Why couldn't it have been two?_

"I know…I've missed you." Merlin resisted the urge to flinch away as he neared her. He reminded her of a wolf, with his smile that showed all of his teeth and the way he prowled rather than walked. He was doing it now, stalking instead of strolling towards her. When he held out his hand she accepted it out of politeness and respect for his position, nothing else, and she had to repress a shudder as he pressed his lips to her knuckles. She never understood that gesture; women didn't do anything back apart from simper and blush and perhaps curtsy. None of which Merlin did. Instead, she managed to put down the armour she had been holding precariously with one hand so it didn't fall over and then faced Thomas, bowing her head slightly in return.

Thomas looked slightly put out by her reaction, or lack thereof – most women would have fainted by now – but quickly regained his 'pride'. Puffing out his chest, he said, "The banquet tonight – your services are required. To serve the king and queen with drink."

Merlin already knew this, but she smiled and nodded anyway. "Thank you, Thomas, I shan't forget."

"Good," he said and nodded pompously. With that he marched away, hands clasped behind his back, pausing only once to give her a wink over his shoulder.

"Arrogant idiot," she muttered darkly, stooping to pick up the armour again.

"Who does he think he is," she continued to herself as she made her way down the stairs, "just 'knowing' that I desire him? Because I most certainly do not," she added hastily, as if someone was there listening. "He's even worse than Arthur."

Merlin's talking to herself was a nice distraction, and also proved to be short lived when she overestimated where a step was and slipped through thin air's feeble grasp. She gave an involuntary shriek, falling forwards, and dropped the armour. Luckily she was only ten steps or so from the bottom, and so when she hit the ground, it pressing cold and hard into her cheek, she was no more than a little dazed, and only one side of her face hurt – the side she'd landed on, funnily enough.

"Merlin? Merlin!" Her groggy mind recognized a voice, though she couldn't put a name or face to it for a second. Then it clicked and she smiled. Percival.

She heard a clanging of armour as he brushed things out of the way and barely had time to think about complaining indignantly about how she had just polished all that, before she was hauled – gently, she had to admit – to her feet and examined by an anxious Percival. "You alright?"

"Yeah, m'fine."

Percival scanned her face, his hands on her shoulders. "You should go to Gaius. Just in case."

"But the armour -"

"I'll deal with the armour. You go to Gaius."

"Thank you Percival." She shot him a small smile before pivoting and heading down the corridor that led to the physician's chambers, rubbing her cheek. Percival watched her go worriedly. She was going the right way – that meant she didn't have a concussion, right?

"Can I come in?" Percival called from outside the king and queen's joint chambers. An answer was yelled from inside so Percival entered, easily balancing the king's armour on one hand. Gwen smiled at him from her position at the table.

"Percival? Where's Merlin?" Arthur asked, walking out from behind the screen (fully-clothed).

"She fell down the stairs. Don't worry," he added as Gwen began to stand up, "she's fine. I sent her to Gaius just in case though."

"Good," Arthur said, looking relieved.

"Percival!" Merlin called. The knight turned and smiled as the maid jogged down the stairs to meet him. Predictably, she tripped on the second to last one and fell into Percival's waiting arms.

"Thank you," she said, a little breathlessly. "For that and for taking the armour back. I'll return the favour."

"No need," Percival said, smiling and helping Merlin steady herself. "Gaius said you're alright then?"

"Mm-hm! Well, apart from this," Merlin said, turning her face so Percival could see a large angry bruise on her cheek.

"Ouch…no permanent damage though?"

"No, luckily. It's training now, right?"

"Right. Can I escort you, my lady?"

"You most certainly can, Sir Knight."

Arthur applauded when Merlin stepped out. "Here comes Camelot's greatest balancing act!"

Merlin flushed a bright crimson. Percival thought on his feet, replying, "You shouldn't mock an injured woman, Arthur!"

"Injured?" Gwaine asked, the laughter abruptly stopping.

Merlin turned her pretty head to the side, showing off an impressive multicoloured bruise that spanned almost her entire right cheek. Next to her porcelain skin, the purple looked livid and a small cut above her metallic blue eye completed the picture. Even Arthur winced.

"Knights, we'll do some basic sparring. Pair off – Percival, with me." Percival nodded his head in understanding. "Merlin, sit down somewhere and rest."

Merlin grinned at the unusual show of affection and sat down half in and half out of the shade, still beaming.

Percival and Arthur moved near to Merlin, who kept up a running commentary about their fighting, as loudly as possible for everyone's benefit.

"Percival lunges and oh! Arthur barely manages to defend. But now the king's attacking and oh, that was an underhand move, you sly person, Arthur."

Arthur stopped them all after an hour, successfully tired out. Merlin stopped her comments, realizing there was nothing left to comment about. But when Arthur waved everyone over, she started again, this time about Arthur as if he wasn't there.

"Well done, men, you all did well today -"

"You better have done, you're the ones who fight to keep the Camelotians alive -"

"We'll meet same time tomorrow –"

"He overworks all of us -"

"Merlin, shut up!"

"I swear he thinks I'm deaf -"

"Merlin, I'm losing my patience!"

"And now he's lying, pretending he ever had any patience in the first place! The prat, honestly…" Merlin tutted and stood.

Arthur took a deep breath, closed his eyes and counted to ten. "Will someone please go and get the practice dummies left over there?" he asked through gritted teeth.

"I will," Percival said, walking over to the discarded models at the base of an oak tree, which was being chopped down by two servants.

"I will too," Merlin chirped, skipping over to help him, joining the older knight by the base of the large tree.

"Now that the distraction's gone –" Arthur started, but was cut off by the sound of a tree breaking and yells. Looking over his shoulder, he saw the tree trunk fall down…and Percival and Merlin right where it was going to land.

I thought you were funny," Percival said, bending to collect a limp dummy.

"Glad to hear it," Merlin replied, doing likewise. They shared a grin but were both distracted by a snapping sound. They both looked behind themselves and saw the tree about to fall, its path focused directly on them.

Merlin didn't think, and nor did her magic. She reacted by instinct and with molten irises time came to an almost standstill. In the extra-added seconds she had enough time to push her and Percival out of the way.

Time returned to normal, and as a large boom hit her ears Merlin winced, thinking of what could have happened if they'd both been underneath. Then she blushed as she realized she was lying on top of Percival. With a stammered apology, she slid off. They both climbed to their feet and Percival picked a stray leaf out of Merlin's messy bun.

"Thanks for that," Percival said, slightly out of breath.

"I said I'd return the favour."

"You just saved my life. I returned armour to Arthur."

"Ah, but you see, if Arthur hadn't have gotten his armour back I would have been killed."

"Are you two alright?" Arthur asked frantically, appearing round the side of the trunk, closely followed by Leon, Gwaine and Elyan.

"He's the one who would have killed me," Merlin said to Percival, pointing at Arthur in case he hadn't got whom she was talking about.

Arthur stared at Merlin for a moment, before deciding, "Well, Merlin's fine. Percival?"

"I'm fine."

"Good. Don't ever scare me like that again," Arthur said accusingly.

"Wasn't exactly our fault that a bloody tree nearly fell on us!" Merlin exclaimed indignantly.

"I think that was very unfair of Arthur, blaming us for a tree nearly crushing us!"

"Let it go, Merlin," Percival chuckled.

"I'm not letting it go until I get out of shock," Merlin said seriously.

"You're in shock, are you?"

"Yes! If you come by Gaius' later I'll have a blanket and everything."

"I'll bear that in mind. Well, goodbye," Percival said as they reached his chambers.

"Goodbye! Hello," as Gwen rushed up and squeezed her arm.

"Come on!" Gwen trilled, dragging the maid down the corridor. "I've got a surprise for you!"

"What is it? Oh, no, wait, it's a surprise, you can't tell me." Merlin rolled her eyes. "I hate surprises."

"This is a good surprise. Trust me. It's for the feast tonight."

"Oh, the feast! The one where Thomas will be trying to talk to me at every spare opportunity. Yay!" Merlin fake cheered. Gwen looked at her sympathetically – she was the only one who knew about her dislike of the head servant.

"Yes, well, I thought you needed to be smartly dressed. So I got you something to wear!"

"Oh no," Merlin moaned as they reached Gwen's chambers. "It's not a dress is it?"

"Yes. And you are wearing it."

When they got inside, Gwen picked up a gold and black dress from the bed. Merlin grabbed it and stared at it in shock. "It's beautiful! I actually want to wear it. I want to wear a dress. What's happening to me, Gwen?"

Gwen merely laughed and directed Merlin to the screen. "Get changed, you idiot, and we'll see how it looks."

* * *

_**A/N: Did you enjoy? Please let me know. Next chapter should hopefully be soon and probably around the same length. Thanks for reading even if you didn't enjoy it but I hope you did!**_


	2. Chapter 2

_Chapter 2_

_Warning/s: Little bit of a theme of rape; don't worry, it's not even mentioned but it's suggested._

_A/N: I made up a kingdom called Eglesgott in here because I had a random dream about it last night._

_Sorry for any mistakes. I'm really not well and even after writing this my brain is super tired. So I didn't check it over properly._

_Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin, or Colin Morgan (but I wish I did)._

* * *

Merlin frowned at herself in the hanging mirror. In the looking glass, she could see her head and the upper half of her torso; and what a flaunting upper torso it was.

The dress was very low cut, and the bodice underneath pushed up breasts she wasn't really aware she had. The gold and black complimented her pale and flawless skin; her hair was still in a messy bun but a strand or two had fallen out and lay across her shoulder, the contrast like coal against snow.

Her lips were slightly chapped but somehow ere even more beautiful with that feature. They were a rosy pink, the bottom larger than the top, and Merlin ran her tongue over them nervously.

Two sparkling blue eyes grinned at her. Don't worry, they seemed to say, it'll be fine!

"Merlin? Are you stuck?" Gwen called from the other side of the changing screen.

Merlin snapped back into the world that everyone else inhabited, and out of hers. "No, I'm fine. Just a second!"

With one final adjustment, tugging the bodice up and the skirt down (the two actions immediately cancelled each other out) Merlin stepped out from behind the wooden screen.

"Perfect," was all Gwen said.

Before the serving girl had a chance to react, the queen had zipped over and was fussing around her, humming like a bee in a comb.

"Gwen…?"

"Who's going to be at this feast?"

"Oh, the visiting dignitaries from Eglesgott," Gwen replied.

"Where?"

"Eglesgott – they're a magic-loving kingdom," Gwen explained. "Arthur wanted to get to know them a little better, and as long as they use no magic in Camelot they're welcome."

Merlin's throat went dry, "W-why…Surely Arthur doesn't want to meet sorcerers?"

"I think he's warming to magic a bit, actually, you know," Gwen said thoughtfully.

Merlin processed this bit of information slowly, mulling it over in her intelligent mind.

The clomping of boots signalled Arthur's return. Covered in mud and sweat, he grinned, still breathing heavily from the exertion of training, and greeted both of them. Then he paused, staring at Merlin for a period of time that was long enough to be incredibly awkward.

"What?" Merlin finally asked, feeling self-conscious and resisting the urge to look down at the dress.

"You look…like a woman," Arthur said slowly and tactlessly.

"Arthur!" Gwen scolded.

"Sorry." Arthur corrected himself with a shake of the head, "You look beautiful Merlin."

And indeed she did – two strands of her hair had been pinned back, even on each side, and the rest was loose down her back, slightly wavy from the bun.

Gwen had even managed to get her to wear heels.

"Well, the feast starts in an hour; do you think you can manage not to mess anything you're wearing up until then?" Gwen asked Merlin, with the air of a mother trying to explain to her child why they shouldn't hit the dog with a chair.

"Yes," Merlin said determinedly.

* * *

The feast was actually interesting; Arthur was slightly on guard with the monarchs of Eglesgott, but apart from that it was a lot of fun. Merlin was slightly surprised at the admiring glances she was getting, both from the men and the women, but focused instead on serving Arthur and Gwen with wine. Fortunately it was not a job that needed doing too frequently, so until she was needed she could slink into the shadows and creep round to talk to the knights, seated at a side table.

It was on one such occasion when Merlin realized Percival was beckoning her over.

With a slight skip in her step, she bounded over and bent down so Percival could talk to her easier, unknowingly presenting him with a view all the way down her top.

He coughed uncomfortably and whispered, "Is it just me, or does that visiting lord look a little…sneaky; like he's up to no good."

Merlin cast a glance towards the 'up-to-no-good' lord. He reminded her of a horse; he had a rather long face and pronounced nose, and true to Percival's word, he was rather shiftily looking around. Merlin could almost see the cogs in his brain, whirring around and plotting how to sneak out without drawing attention to himself.

"It's not just you, I can see it too…oh well, I should really stop judging people. He's probably just got that look around him."

"You're probably right. Oh, I think Arthur's wine's run out," Percival said, indicating the king, who was in comfortable conversation with the horse faced man.

"Bye!" Merlin hurried back to Arthur's side and carefully tipped the jug she was holding to fill up his goblet once more. A little splashed onto the white tablecloth and Merlin winced as it spread and spread. Oops.

Gwen sniggered behind her hand as Merlin discreetly pulled a platter of graphs over the stain. "You saw nothing," she hissed to Gwen on the way out.

* * *

"I trust the feast went alright?" Thomas asked snootily, sniffing disdainfully as he did. The candlelight threw their flickering shadows on the wall as they walked through the castle.

"It did, actually. It was a lot of fun, even though I was only on the sidelines."

There was a small pause as Thomas opened his mouth but said nothing. He closed his mouth and seemed to ponder something. Then, finally, just as the silence was about to become awkward, he quizzed, "Merlin, do you believe in position?"

"I'm sorry?" Merlin asked, a little surprised by the seemingly random question.

"Sorry – let me clarify that. Do you believe that people are born with positions and should stay in those positions?"

"Well, no – for one thing, look at our Queen. Born a servant. I think there are boundaries that need to be stuck too but apart from that people should be free to live their life."

"I was hoping you'd say that…"

"Why?" Merlin asked suspiciously; Thomas had a gleam in his eye, and it wasn't a good one.

"Servants are meant to act with dignity at all times, and be proper in public."

"Y-eeees. Your point?"

"And to be proper and dignified, would you say a strict servant to servant relationship is required at all times in public?"

"Yes. But it's not, because of what I said earlier. Can you get to your point? All this is making my head hurt."

"My point is – servants should be allowed to kiss is public, do you agree?"

"Wha – yes." Before Merlin had time to question the randomness of that statement Thomas grabbed her wrists.

"Thomas, what are you doing?"

Her only response was his lips pressed against hers, and his force driving her back into the wall. She had no time to struggle before his arms circled her waist and held her captive to him. Merlin resisted the urge to kick Thomas somewhere very hard where it would hurt very much and instead tried to prise his hands from her waist.

He drew back off her, breathing heavily. "Sorry – that was very rude. I bid you good night."

"Thomas!" He had already scampered round the corner. Merlin slid down the wall shakily and hugged her knees. She thought he was going to – no, stop it, Merlin. Thomas would never do that…right?

* * *

"Merlin?" There was a gentle knocking at her door, accompanying the familiar voice.

"Percival?" Merlin asked groggily, standing up and wandering over to the door.

"You're late," was the greeting.

"Good morning to you too," Merlin groaned. Then it hit her. "I'm late?"

"Arthur's getting impatient," Percival said. Then, with a questioning look, "Are you alright?"

Merlin froze like a deer in headlights. "Yes. Why wouldn't I be?"

"You're still in your dress from last night. Get to bed late?"

"You could say that," Merlin muttered, reaching behind her to try and undo the laces. "Percival, could you…?"

'What? Oh, of course…"

The tension in the room was tangible. Merlin blushed as Percival came up to stand beside her and deftly undid the laces. His warm fingers brushed her back for a fraction of a second and she shivered at the unfamiliar touch. "Sorry," he said quickly."

"It's fine," Merlin replied, equally fast.

Percival finished his fumbling and strode out of her room, closing the door behind him to allow her modesty.

* * *

"I think you jest, Sir Knight," Merlin grinned.

"I think I do not jest, Lady Merlin," Percival replied.

"I'm not a lady," Merlin laughed, "I'm only a servant."

"But to me, you are a lady," Percival said seriously.

"You flatter me, Percival," Merlin smiled.

"There is so much about you to flatter, my lady."

"Like what?"

"Your beauty."

"I certainly don't feel beautiful right now," Merlin grumbled. Her hair was back into its normal bun and she was wearing her usual brown trousers; but this time she had combined a purple shirt and a grey neckerchief, and the combination looked strangely becoming.

Her horse skirted sideways and she calmed her with a, "Shh, Katriona." Resuming normal riding, she turned her head to look at Percival.

They were both at the back of the procession. In the lead were Arthur and the visiting dignitaries. Behind them, a line of knights. Following them came beaters. Then, right at the back of the hunting line, were Percival and Merlin. Merlin didn't mind being at the back, actually; no one could hear them talking and they were free to walk while the others trotted, giving their horses a break for a few seconds.

"Canter," yelled Arthur from the front.

"Let's not," Percival said to Merlin. She laughed, patting her horse.

"Don't worry, girl – we'll take it easy for a while.

* * *

"I can't believe we got lost."

"In all fairness, they were cantering and we were walking, making it pretty hard to keep up," Percival pointed out.

"You're annoyingly right. Oh well. What's the worst that could happen?"

"A mythical creature kills us both?"

"You're right, I supp – aargh!"

A griffin blinked at her with a beady, irritated eye. It stood, stretched and cawed angrily. Its vision focused on Merlin with laser intensity.

"Uh, Merlin?"

"Yes, Percival?"

"Maybe we should gallop?"

Neither waited for a reply. The griffin reared and both horses took flight. It was all Merlin could do to hold on as Katriona took a flying leap over a tree trunk, clearing it with two feet to spare.

To her left, she could see Percival drawing his sword. _Damn. Damn damn damn damn DAMN, _Merlin thought, sighing.

Presently they both arrived in a clearing; Percival slid off his mount and Merlin did similarly, preparing for the griffin.

It charged in with a noise like a stampede of elephants; Merlin muttered a spell and hoped the noise would be enough to cover it up.

Percival appeared not to have noticed the noise. He did, however, notice how his sword had turned an icy blue colour and was literally writhing with magic.

With no time to question the source of such a thing, Percival stabbed the griffin once, twice.

It fell to the floor, limp, the sword still intruding in its body.

Percival turned to Merlin. Her world turned shaky and black and white. She felt like she needed to sit down but there was nowhere she could that would allow her to make a quick getaway.

"That was you, wasn't it?" Percival whispered softly. "You have magic?"

"Yes. I was born with it. So go ahead. Kill me for something I can't help." Something broke inside of Merlin and a solitary tear dripped down her cheek. It landed on the mossy floor and quickly became insignificant to the world.

Percival stared at Merlin; Merlin stared back. Not defiant, not angry; but scared, like a little lost girl.

And, Percival realized, that was what Merlin was. A girl with magic, lost and isolated amongst those who scorned it. And to her, he was one of those people.

Percival had never felt more monstrous in his life.

* * *

_A/N: Right, so...little complaint._

_I got like 50 follows, and 20 favourites...and 8 reviews._

_WHAT?!_

_Come on, guys, I love reviews! I even reply to them, even though I'm really socially awkward and find it hard to talk to people I don't know! COME ON!_

_To make it easier for you this time, I even prepared things that you can copy and paste into the review box! you know, if you're in a rush or have blisters on you hand from playing the double bass for seven hours straight when you're only meant to practise for an hour maximum. But anyway._

_a) This chapter was awesome, I cannot wait for the next one._

_b) Yeah, this chapter was all right. There were a couple of things I didn't like, though._

_c) Not a brilliant chapter, but you know. I like the storyline._

_d) This chapter was terrible. I HATE YOU._

_e) I wish to make you read Hemingway for the rest of your life to make you feel the pain I felt when I read this._

_Yeah, I don't like Hemingway._

_f) How did I even get here? _

_But it would be awesome if you could make up you own._

_And, if I don't update before the 25th, Merry Christmas, guys!_


	3. Chapter 3

So, sorry it's been so long guys. This was quite a hard chapter to write - I wanted to do it justice. Let me know how I did. Also, I'm looking for a beta for this story, so if you're wlling to do it or know someone who is please let me know, either by PM or a review.

* * *

"Of course I won't kill you," Percival breathed. Merlin looked up with wary eyes. When she saw the genuine care in the knight's eyes, she sagged against him in relief. Percival held her for a few seconds, confused, before realizing she was crying. "Oh, um…shush, shush."

Percival cradled her small frame in his arms. For a while they were both content to just stand there for a while, oen findig protection in the other.

They only broke apart when Arthur's distant cry of "Merlin! Percival!" echoed through the woods.

Merlin hastily wriggled out of his arms and wiped her face with jerky movements. As the others came into view she turned round with a bright smile plastered across her face.

"Arthur! Look what Percival killed!"

Arthur whistled as he neared them. "Nice one, Percival." He walked over to examine the fallen beast.

"Hey," Percival whispered to Merlin, catching her arm. "You killed it, not me."

"And how am I meant to explain that to them?" Merlin hissed in reply, indicating the hunting party that had arrived just on Arthur's tail.

As more congratulations found their way to Percival, he nodded and accepted them, but still wore a small frown that Merlin didn't miss.

He got his sword back, and after wiping it on the grass to cleanse it of the griffin's insides they set off again.

* * *

"I still think you should get the credit," Percival said quietly. Once again, they had situated themselves at the back of the parade, but they were only a couple of horse's lengths from the second to last riders.

"You and I both know that's not a possibility," Merlin whispered back.

Percival was silent for a few more seconds, letting the familiar sounds of outside wash over him. Then he replied, "Why not?"

Melrin sighed. "Because I'm a servant, with no training in this matter, and you're a knight with every bit of training in this, and because I used"-she dropped her voice even more here-"magic to kill it, which is outlawed!"

"That's not fair," Percival argued, barely remembering to keep his voice down to a low volume.

Merlin glanced around to make sure they hadn't been heard by anyone before answering. "I know it isn't. Life isn't fair."

Percival thought, with a sort of sad sense of realization, that Merlin had probably had first-hand experience of that. And a lot of it, too.

LINE BREAK

"We're coming up to Camelot," Arthur shouted, and the wind carried his voice back so even Percival and Merlin could hear it clearly. Sure enough, rising out of the ground in front of them was the magnificent castle Merlin called home.

As they trotted into the courtyard, hooves producing a neat clipping sound against the stone, Merlin quickly dismounted and handed her reins to a waiting stable hand with a genuine, "Thank you."

Copying her example, Percival did the same and then hurried over to the slim serving-girl, pausing only to let a horse pass. He grabbed her arm gently and tugged her away from the others, towards the forest nearby.

"We need to talk," he said in an undertone so that the others wouldn't hear.

Merlin nodded in understanding and checked behind them to ensure that nobody was watching them with the intent of following.

It was a fairly long walk to the forest, and neither rparty spoke much to the other, except for awkward small talk: "The weather's nice"; "There's a bird over there"; "Arthur's getting fatter."

Once they were on the outskirts of the forest, Percival drew his sword. At Merlin's glance, he added, "Just in case."

"Just in case of what?" Merlin asked, sounding frightened. Percival couldn't work out why.

"Bandits," he said.

"Oh," said Merlin, lookinmg suddenly relieved. "Good."

It took Percival a few more minutes of silent walking to figure out what she was relieved about. He opened his mouth to say something of comfort, but then thought better of it and closed it again.

When they had reached what they valued to be a safe distance from the others, they seated themselves on fallen trees. Percival brushed a few crispy leaves off the mossy top and then offered the place to Merlin.

They sat in silence for a few more seconds, both wanting to say so much but neither knowing how to phrase the words. Merlin opened her mouth a few times but then shut it, afraid that the words would come tumbling out in a great mess of anger and confusion and hurt.

Finally, it was Percival who spoke first and broke the silence. "How long have you been hiding this?"

Merlin took a deep breath in before answering. "Ever since I was born, really." She looked up into Percival's face and elaborated, "A few people know, but most would shun me if they ever found out."

"Who knows?"

"My mother…Gaius…you…my friend Will did know, but he…died a few years ago…a few other people with magic but you don't know them. The druids."

"That's it?"

"Yeah. Lancelot did too."

The name brought a tightening to both of their throats and Percival hastily moved the subject on. "Are you planning on telling anyone else?"

Merlin shook her head violently. "NO! Not yet, at least. Maybe when the time is right, but I don't know when that'll be. It's not now, I know that for certain."

Percival was about to ask her another question (or ten) but it was at that moment that Arthur chose to walk into the clearing.

Melrin sprang up in a flash, clearly worrying whether Artur had heard anything.

His face was impassive, but his tone of voice was perfectly normal. "Percival, training. Merlin, I need you to come and polish some of the swords and such."

Merlin nodded, hoping Arthur didn't notice her hands trembling.

Percival rose as well, and dropped his sword back into its sheath. He began to lope off in long, slow strides, and Arthur set off at the same pace. Merlin jogged to keep up with them both.

* * *

"Block! Attack! Swipe!" Arthur called, as two new knights trained. They were clearly amateurs but even Melrin could see a great potentional in them, as she sat on the side, polishing a shield.

She thought Arthur said her name, so looked up expectantly. When she saw that he had his back to her she frowned and called him. He turned and looked at her with raised eyebrows. "Yes?"

"Did you call me?"

"…No."

"Oh. Must have been the wind."

"Maybe it's just you hearing things, Merlin. I wouldn't put it past you."

"Thanks, sire."

Merlin resumed her shining of the heavy shield, and was just putting it aside when she heard the whisper of _Merlin_ again. This time she realized that it _was_ in her head. She frowned and screwed up her eyes, concentrating on the muffled voices.

Distance, rather than defence, was keeping this conversation from here. But when she conecentrated…

She recognized the voices of the visiting nobles immediately. One of them was a little way from her, standing b Arthur, watching the knights train. The lady was presumably in her quarters, and her husband was being giving a tour by some fo the servants.

If Merlin was careful, she could pick apart which one was which.

_Keep an eye on that serving girl Merlin _the lady said.

_Why?_ the one next to the Arthur, the son, asked.

_We think she may be Emrys _the father chipped in.

_Are you sure? _the son questioned, sounding suddenly excited.

_We have our reasons; we only suspect at this point, but we need to be careful _the father replied.

_She could ruin our entire plan _the mother added.

_I'll watch her carefully _the son confirmed.

Almost immediately, Merlin saw the noble by Arthur lift his head and look at her quickly.

* * *

"They know!"

"What?"

"The visiting nobles, the ones from Egottgless—"

"Eglesgott."

"They were talking about me in training! About my magic!"

Percival stared at her in confusion. They were back in the secluded part of the forest. "No they weren't. They weren't even all in the same place!"

"Through their minds!" Merlin said impatiently.

"Wait…they can do that?" Percival asked slowly.

"Yes, but they know I'm Emrys!"

"Okay, calm down…tell Gaius. He'll know what to do."

"You're right. Let's go!"


	4. Chapter 4

_**Hey again everyone! This chapter is really short, I know, and I'm sorry, but the next two chapters are as well. These are really fillers, and then there's going to be a really long chapter after them. It was originally all the same chapter but I realized it was too compressed and squashed together to be of any good quality, so I split it up. Hopefully they'll be posted quite soon, so you won't have to wait too long. On with the fic!**_

* * *

"Merlin, since they are from a magic kingdom, it is all too likely that they know about your magic," Gaius gave Merlin the 'you-know-I'm-right' eyebrow. She sighed and rubbed hands over her tired eyes.

"I know, Gaius. I just panicked, I guess." Then another thought struck her and she sat up straight suddenly. "Wait! They said I could ruin their plan! What does that mean?"

Gaius sighed and turned around, supporting himself with a single hand on his workbench. "They're probably just afraid that you'll mess up their plan to get Arthur to like magic or something ridiculous like that."

"Why would they be afraid of me messing it up? I'm Emrys! I'm meant to be supporting magic!"

"Yes, but all the legends speak of _you _getting Arthur to warm up to magic when _you _think the time is right."

Merlin opened her mouth again but then clamped it shut. Gaius's arguments were reasonable and balanced and made her fears sound completely idiotic.

* * *

"They're up to something, I know it," Merlin told Percival a few seconds later, jabbing her finger at him for emphasis before settling both hands on her hips and pacing restlessly.

Percival frowned at her, crossing his arms, then reached out and grasped Merlin by the hand when she next passed. She stopped abruptly and looked down at their clasped hands, surprised, but didn't object in anyway. "Look, I know this is a very over-used thing to say, but—"

"Get some sleep," Merlin joined in and they finished the sentence together.

"Right. It's late now, why don't we meet in the morning at training, we'll talk more then."

"Alright. Night, Percival."

"Night, Merlin."

LINE BREAK

"Arthur, Gwen, breakfast!" Merlin knocked on the door cheerfully and frowned when there was no response, not even a happy greeting from Gwen telling her to come in or Arthur grunting at her to go away…or words to that effect.

Opening the door with her hip (and then wincing at the subsequent pain that followed from opening a door handle with one's hipbone), Merlin barged in. She set the plates and goblets down on the table and busied herself with picking up various items of laundry off the floor. _Looks like some people were a little busy last night…_

Only after a few minutes did she glance up and then realize that no one else was in the room. "Arthur? Gwen?"

No reply. "Arthur! Gwen!"

_Where are they? _Arthur never rose earlier than he had to if he could help it...

* * *

"Morning, Merlin!" Arthur yelled cheerfully, striding down the corridor.

Merlin turned from where she was staring out of the window, and started. "Where have you been?"

Arthur's expression turned blank. "What?"

"I didn't know where you were! I was worried!"

Arthur held his hands up in surrender. "We – me and Gwen, that is – went out for a ride with the visiting nobles." He examined her face closer as she neared. "Is everything alright, Merlin?"

"I don't know! It's just there's this and then the nobles and then I don't know what to do about Percival –"

"What about Percival?"

"And there's this whole thing with Thomas!"

"Thomas? Head of the servants Thomas?"

"Yes!"

"What happened?"

"He kissed me!"

Merlin clapped her hands over her mouth. Arthur stared at her in shock for a few seconds, and then turned on his heel and ran down the corridor.

* * *

_**Massive thanks to musicnlyrics for her beta-ing. And thanks to all of you for reading!**_


	5. Chapter 5

_**Right, sorry this took so long. My granddad had a heart attack and was in hospital for a while, and I was really upset at that, so naturally I was a little wobbly and didn't really feel like uploading a chapter, because any kind of criticism (constructive or not) would probably have sent me into floods of tears. Then we had some home problems and I was so stressed this didn't even cross my mind. So sorry guys, and as a treat as soon as I get the next chapter back I'll upload it.**_

_**After these two small chapters, there'll be a few longer ones after it, I promise.**_

Merlin crouched outside the council chambers. She sniffed resolutely and scrubbed at her eyes.

Arthur had marched in there with Percival, Gwaine, Leon and Elyan, the latter of whom had seen her hiding behind a pillar, but hadn't told Arthur at Merlin's finger on her lips. No doubt he had alerted the other three to her presence, though.

A few moments after that Gwen had trotted in, closing the door behind her with a firm click.

When Merlin had heard the deep drone of Arthur's voice from within, she had crept forward to the position she was in now.

First, he had greeted them all. Now, though Merlin could barely hear what was being said, she could tell it was a serious matter, and she was rather offended that she wasn't being involved.

She made out a few words, dismembered from the conversation: _servants...advances...eye...means...all..._

They made absolutely no sense. Merlin was about to risk opening the door just a crack when she heard footsteps coming down the corridor.

Cursing, Merlin ran back to the pillar and flattened herself behind it. Even as the king's maid, it was probably best to not be seen prying on private meetings.

It turned out to be Thomas, and as he strolled down the corridor, the doors opened. The knights ambled out first - Thomas halted in his way to let them pass.

They all shot him hard glances, especially Percival, and then carried on. When they reached the pillar they each looked her way - Leon smiled, Elyan nodded, Gwaine (predictably) winked and Percival touched her arm briefly.

"Thomas?" Arthur called from inside.

"Yes, milord?" Thomas said, bowing at the open doorway.

"Come here for a minute?"

"Certainly, milord."

Gwen hurried out as soon as Thomas hurried in and discovered Merlin behind the pillar. "Come on," she hissed, taking her by the arm and dragging her away.

"But I want to know what's going on!" Merlin protested feebly.

Gwen ignored her.

LINE BREAK

"How can we be rid of her?" Celeste said, pacing up and down in frustration.

"Might I make a suggestion?" Dylan spoke up suddenly.

"Go ahead. It's not like your father has any." Celeste shot a venomous glance towards Byrn, who stoically ignored it.

"We use Morgana." His parents looks at him, confused. Dylan elaborated, "We say we saw Morgana in the woods, plotting to kill Arthur. We send her off, ambush her, and kill the king."

Celeste smiled slowly. "Perfect. Now, if you'll excuse me - I have a serving girl to fool."

_**Reviews would make me feel a lot better. And yes, that was emotional blackmail.**_

_**I think. I'm not precisely sure what blackmail really entails, having never been involved in it myself.**_

_**Anyway…hope you enjoyed, and thanks to everyone for reading! Hugs and kisses to you all!**_


	6. Chapter 6

_Chapter 6_

_Warning/s: A little bit of violence/threat at the beginning._

_A/N: Sorry this has taken so long. I've had a bit of disruption lately (changing schools, it was my birthday on Tuesday, lots of homework, etc.) so I was kind of distracted from fanfiction. Hope this chapter makes up for it then!_

_Also, I went to _The Globe Theatre_ with my school to see _The Tempest_, and guess who was in it? ONLY COLIN MORGAN. He looked at me, smiled, and then said his lines, still staring at me. I'm still fangirling over that._

_Also, if anyone has _kik_ on their smartphone, I'm on it as _cordeliarose123_. Feel free to add me, I promise I'm not a paedophile :)_

_Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin. Considering what's happening in this fic, that's a good thing._

_Quote for the chapter: "I guess we are who we are for a lot of reasons. And maybe we'll never know most of them. But even if we don't have the power to choose where we come from, we can still choose where we go from there." (The Perks of Being a Wallflower)_

It looked like it was to be a pretty average day. Fairly average weather, normal chores, normal breakfast that she was carrying to deliver as normal to the normal people, Arthur and Gwen. So, all in all, a normal day.

Until a hand grabbed her wrist and pulled her into an alcove. The trays landed with a clatter on the stone floor and the red wine spilled out in a puddle, seeping into the cracks between the slabs and starting to drip down the stairs.

Merlin opened her mouth to scream but another hand covered that. Her captor was behind her; she could feel their body warmth close to her back. A voice that Merlin recognised whispered for her to not scream or else, and she nodded assent.

The figure let her go, but barricaded the only exit available.

"Thomas!" Merlin hissed. "What the hell are you doing?"

He didn't look like Thomas. The handsome face and ruffled hair was still there, but the former was taut with distress and the latter lank. "What did you say?" he hissed, advancing towards her with a single step.

Merlin automatically backed up as far as she could go, only stopping when her back hit the rough edge of the alcove. "I don't know what you're talking about," she whispered, voice shaky and close to tears.

"What have you said about what I did?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, Thomas, I really don't," Merlin mumbled, one tear escaping her eye.

"I know you like me," Thomas said, coming closer until he was almost sharing the same space as her. He grabbed her wrist with both hands. "Don't you?"

"No, Thomas, I don't! Leave me alone!" Merlin darted forward a few steps but stopped, crying out in pain as Thomas twisted her wrist roughly.

"And if you tell anyone," Thomas said, starting to back out of the space, "it'll be a lot worse than that."

Merlin glanced up from nursing her arm and glared at him. "Well, if you'll excuse me, Thomas, I have a job." She swept out, holding her arm and hurried back to the kitchen to grab another two breakfasts.

LINE BREAK

"What's that on your arm?" Arthur asked, lazily popping a grape into his mouth.

Merlin glanced down and saw a vicious red mark on her forearm from where Thomas had grabbed her earlier. She shook the sleeve down over it hurriedly. "Nothing," she replied. She walked over to make the bed but that didn't shake his eyes from her.

"Merlin," he began, but was interrupted by a knock at the door.

"Come in!" Gwen called, taking a sip from her goblet.

Lady Celeste poked her head round the door, steadying herself with a hand on the door. "Sorry, but could I borrow Merlin for a few minutes?"

"Certainly," Arthur said, gesturing to her with a slice of cheese.

"Thank you," Celeste said, ducking back into the corridor. Merlin dropped the sheets and hurried after her.

Melrin closed the door behind her with a soft click and bowed her head slightly. "Milady," she said politely.

"Merlin!" Celeste whisper-shouted. "I need your help."

"Yes, I know," Merlin replied, a little confused. "That's why you've asked for me."

Celeste gave a nervous trill of laughter. "No, that's not it. I saw Morgana earlier this morning, about a half hour ago."

"What?" Merlin asked, dropping her voice slightly and moving closer slightly.

"She was plotting to kill the king. I didn't want to tell them because I knew Arthur would rush off and most likely get himself killed, and the knights are a lot more likely to trust you than me."

"Thank you," Merlin said, absorbing the information. "I'll go alert the knights." She rushed off with no such intention, and missed Celeste's smirk of triumph as she glided back to tell her family of the success.

_A/N: I'm listening to _Example_ right now, and I'm typing in time to the beat. Needless to say, the clicking is rather amusing. _

_If anyone has any good emo/punk/rock/metal/gothic/indie/alternative artists you think are good, drop me a review with them included? Thanks _

_REPLY TO REVIEWS:_

blondeperson: _Why thank you! I know, he is seriously underrated as a knight – I find him fairly adorable and rather like a gentle giant, and I love him, he's probably my favourite knight. Well, you'll find out soon enough! Haha, thanks for the review!_


	7. Chapter 7

_Chapter 7_

_Warning/s: A bit of mild horror/gore._

_A/N: Does anyone know what a 'clam-bog' is?_

_Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin._

_Quote for the chapter: "I'd much rather be ugly but have seven toes, then be hot but have three." – someone in my English set._

"Arthur, where's Merlin?" Percival asked, jogging onto the field, sword in hand, only a few minutes later than everyone else.

"I don't know," Arthur frowned, turning from a rack of crossbows to face his knight. He squinted as the sun hit his eyes, "Lady Celeste borrowed her this morning but that was quite a while ago. I saw her go into the forest, but I thought she would have returned by now. I thought she might be with you."

"Why would she be with me?" Percival allowed his sword's tip to hit the ground.

Gwaine, who was strolling by, whooped in glee, attracting a few stares, and practically skipped over to the two. "Even he doesn't know!"

"Gwaine—" Arthur started.

"Know what?" Percival interrupted.

"About you and Merlin!"

"What about me and Merlin?" Percival asked, completely bemused.

Arthur pinched the bridge of his nose between his forefinger and thumb. "Gwaine…"

"You mean you actually don't know?" Gwaine paused, staring at Percival mournfully. "Does this mean it's not true?" he asked of Arthur, for all the world looking like a child discovering his birthday had been cancelled.

"Know what?" Percival questioned again, looking between king and knight.

"About you and Merlin!" Gwaine repeated.

"Yes, we got to that bit – what about Merlin and me?" a confused Percival replied.

"That…" Now that it came down to it, Gwaine seemed reluctant to speak. He looked at Arthur as if requesting permission (although this had never stopped him before) and then back to Percival, mouth opening and then snapping shut once more. "YouandMerlinareathing," he blurted out in one breath.

"Me and Merlin are a what?" Percival asked, not sure he'd heard the end of the sentence correctly.

"A thing! A couple! An item! Courting!" Gwaine crossed his fore and middle finger and waved them in Percival's face, making the knight step back a few steps in fear for his life. "Like this!"

"Wha-what?" Percival stammered.

"Did I trip over my words?" Gwaine demanded.

"We're not an…'item'!" Percival near shouted, making quotation marks with his fingers. His sword toppled over and the heavy hilt hit Arthur squarely on the foot. Arthur howled in pain and grabbed his toes, hopping around the training pitch on one foot. Some of the newer knights looked over, utter confusion written on their features.

Leon ran over to see why his king was dancing like a brain-damaged chicken and subsequently got punched in the face by a flailing extremity. Gwaine began to shout at Leon for assaulting the king and therefore committing treason. Elyan, at his own peril, began arguing with Gwaine before a member of the court overheard and sentenced Leon to death. Somewhere among the kerfuffle, Percival (even with his considerable size) escaped.

"Merlin?" Percival called softly, treading as softly as he could on the forest floor. He frowned as he reached a clearing where he knew Merlin often picked herbs. If Merlin was anywhere in these woods by choice, it would be here.

Concerned, Percival picked up his pace and ran towards an area he knew was infested with bandits. Cursing inwardly, he realised he'd left his sword behind but carried on regardless. He kept out an eye for any sharp or jagged rocks as he travelled, and picked up a branch that was pointed at one end, reckoning that something was better than nothing.

His mind wandered to Gwaine's words. Why did he assume they were courting? Yes, he had quite strong feelings for the maid, but he was fairly certain that Merlin didn't reciprocate them.

Sighing, he bowed to salvage a few stones that looked fairly razor-sharp and stashed them in his pocket.

Merlin cursed under her breath as she got thwacked in the cheek by another low hanging bough, this one covered in needle-like thorns. She dabbed away the blood that appeared, and then wiped her thumb on her breeches, leaving a smudge of crimson on the tan.

Then, suddenly, a sharp, searing, burning pain penetrated her side. With a gasp of shock and pain, Merlin dropped to her knees, clutching at the wound. With trembling fingers she prised up the shirt to view the gash.

It was three, possibly four inches deep, judging by the length of the dagger when she pulled it free and stung like hell when she prodded at it. Blood was flowing out as freely as wine from a jug and with each passing second Merlin grew fainter.

Merlin shoved aside her modesty and stripped off her shirt, compressing it into a tight, compact square and pressing it against the lesion. The cold now bit at her undisguised flesh and she hunched over, protecting as much of herself as was feasible from the chill.

Her head swam and the pain grew deadened and duller. No, Merlin thought desperately, no.

With one last panicked thought, Merlin collapsed forward.

Behind a clump of rocks, a group of bandits cheered for their success. The leader, a tall, unwashed man, spat on the ground and stood. "Oi! Felix!"

Felix, the one who had thrown the dagger, stood as well. "Aye?"

"Go to the Lady Celeste and tell her we done our job. And look quick about it – and don't be taking none of the reward for yourself now, we share it equally. That understood?"

"Aye, 'tis." Felix hurried off to find the lady in question.

"Damn!" Percival hissed to himself as he ran for cover behind a tree. One lone bandit sprinted past him, and a few moments after he had disappeared into the distance another group appeared, this lot ambling along, taking their time and laughing to themselves. One of them, the tallest, nearly as big as Percival himself, nudged one of his comrades and winked, saying, "Well, not only did we get her, we got a show out of it too, yes?"

The others whooped and laughed, one making a callous remark. Percival's blood boiled as he realised they were talking about a young lady; his suspicions grew when one of them described her as being "too small and pale" for his liking.

As soon as they had passed, Percival took off again, leaping over branches that could snap and give away his presence in his hurry.

His heart leapt into his throat when he saw the young woman they had been talking about. She was curved forward, one arm flung out a careless slant, the other insecurely holding a navy wad of material to a bleeding cut. Her back was fair and scarred a little, but Percival ignored all that – he recognised those boots.

"Merlin!" he cried, scrambling down to the dip in the valley to reach her. Once at her side, he rolled her over, silently apologising about her modesty, and claimed the shirt to push against the slash as he guessed she once did.

_A/N: Sorry about the long gap in between updates – I won't bore you with excuses but let's just say that life isn't brilliant right now._

_I'm in the middle of exams right now (I have my Chemistry one today – panicking alittlebit) and they'll be over soon, so hopefully updates will be coming a lot faster than before because they'll be less work, etc._

_Review to make me feel better?_


	8. Chapter 8

_Chapter 8_

_Warning/s: None really._

_Interesting Word for the Chapter: 'Gongoozler': one who stares for a long time at things happening on a canal._

_Disclaimer: I own not Merlin._

_A/N: Sorry this has taken so long, life has been a bit rubbish lately and I didn't feel very inspired. Thanks to musicnlyrics for the beta._

_Well I had a barrel of fun last night, when I originally planned to upload this. The series finale of Waterloo Road ended with DEATH AND PAIN AND TEARS so I literally couldn't function for about half an hour._

_Then I went outside for a bit, my mum forgot about my existence and I got locked out of my house, so when I came back in I went straight to bed and slept until about ten._

_So that's why this is late._

The last candle was snuffed out with a wisp of smoke. The muted light, which streamed in through the arched window, gave the inhabitants the bare minimum amount of illumination required to perceive the skeletons of the furniture.

Gwen made her way over to the bed, engrossed in thought, braiding her cascade of curls. Her nightgown stroked the floor as she paced, the rustling alerting Arthur to her nearing presence.

He turned over, yawning, and bolstered himself against the headboard. "No news of Merlin, yet, then?" he enquired sleepily.

"No," Gwen sighed. "I asked all of the servants I could find, but all they could say was that she dashed into the woods early this morning but never returned."

"You shouldn't go into the woods unprotected and alone," Arthur murmured, kissing Gwen's temple gently.

"I know, that's why I didn't," Gwen replied softly, leaning into Arthur's warm, solid frame. "But Merlin did, which is why I'm worried. Could you go out there tomorrow to look for her? I know we're not supposed to use patrols to go in search of a servant, but maybe you could make up some sort of tale about an investigation that can't wait?"

"Of course," Arthur said, wrapping his arms around his wife. It is Merlin, though – she may have just gotten herself lost." His teasing words did nothing to mask his affectionate and worried tone.

_#mercival#mercival#mercival#mercival#mercival#merc ival#mercival#mercival_

Dylan twisted a dagger between his fingers idly. He watched as his parents, hunched over a map of the castle, muttered among themselves and pointed at various items. Dylan sighed and hurled the dagger towards the door. It thudded into the wooden door, meeting a multitude of others still embedded in the oak.

He glowered at his parents. Why did he have to get dragged into the plot? He didn't want any blood on his hands. They weren't even incorporating his thoughts, or involving him at all.

An idea occurred to him. Would they even notice if he crept out and informed the king? Probably not. Bitterly, Dylan rose and ripped two of the daggers out of the oak door. He slipped out of the room quietly, tucking the weapons into his leather belt as he went.

_#mercival#mercival#mercival#mercival#mercival#merc ival#mercival#mercival_

Percival laboured carefully on Merlin's wound, trying to wrap the most sterile substitute for a bandage he could around the lesion on Merlin's side.

When he had ceased, he wasn't quite sure what to do. He debated whether to stir her or not, and then became aware of the fact that she was shivering. Ashamed to have not thought of it before, Percival unbuckled his chainmail shirt and peeled off his undershirt. Delicately, he propped the fragile woman up with one arm and tugged the shirt over her head and rested her back down.

The shirt dwarfed her considerably, making her look minute and more delicate than she was. Her skin looked pallid against the harsh navy material and her hair was mussed. Still, to Percival, she was the most striking creature he had ever seen.

Her eyelids began to waver and flicker open, and her head lolled from the right onto her left shoulder. She moaned softly and raised the heel of her hand to her eyes, rubbing them both vigorously and wincing as she opened them to the bright sun. It filtered through the canopy of leaves above her, throwing dappled sunbeams onto her features. Merlin shifted so a shadow was covering her eyes and breathed out slowly, exhaling gently as a way to ease the pain.

She reached down with a trembling hand and lifted up the overly large shirt to spot wet strips of her own shirt plastered around her midriff. Merlin frowned. If that is my shirt…

She thought she recognised it as one of Percival's – the size fit that theory, as well. She inhaled deeply…definitely Percival's. It smelt like him. "Percival?" she asked in a frail voice, coughing slightly.

Merlin heard rustling next to her ear, but gave up trying to twist her head over when the ache got the better of her.

"You're awake!" Percival shifted so she could see him easily. His quick, sincere, relieved grin nearly made her break down into tears and, as it was, she felt the first of them sting at the back of her eyes like needles. Wordlessly she offered her arms. Percival, misunderstanding the gesture, leant down and slipped his strong arms around her back. He hauled her onto his lap as a means of supporting her, and Merlin wrapped her long arms around his neck. Percival, seemingly surprised, tensed for a moment but then relaxed, returning the gesture. Merlin buried her face in his neck, inhaling heavily.

When she had regained her composure, she whispered, voice cracking, "Can we go back to Camelot?"

Percival drew back slightly, eyes silently raking over her features. Merlin flushed under the scrutiny. "No," Percival said finally.

"Why not?" Merlin clutched Percival's shoulders, ignoring the fidgety feeling in her stomach. "It's urgent."

"What's most urgent right now is that you need to rest!" Percival gently detached Merlin from his shoulders. "You're ill, Merlin, and weak. We'll stay here for a few hours and then I'll carry you back. Try and go back to sleep, you need your energy."

"No, Perc, you don't understand!" Percival noted the nickname but said nothing. Unlike when the other knights took it upon themselves to tease him with the shortened term, he found himself unbothered and almost contented by the affectionate name. "The nobles, the ones from Eglesgott, they're plotting to kill Arthur! It's obvious to me now!"

Percival stroked her tangled and matted hair back off her face, tucking it behind her slightly pointed ears. He ran his rough thumbs over her cheeks. "Are you sure, Merlin? Because if we go charging in to Camelot, accusing visiting nobles of treason, and it turns out to be false—"

"But I know it is not!" Merlin gripped his much larger hands in hers. "Dylan – you know, their son who looks permanently annoyed – spoke to me in my mind whilst I was unconscious!"

"Merlin…that sounds like a trick to me. Maybe by killing you, Emrys, they hope to take your place, or gain some sort of respect?"

"No, Percival, please, we have to do something!" Tears welled in Merlin's eyes but she refused to let them fall. "Can we at least try to find out – only accuse them if we find absolute proof?"

Percival concurred, "Alright, but we will return later." He shushed Merlin's protests by holding a finger to her lips. "They are hardly going to attack in broad daylight, are they now?"

Merlin felt inclined to protest – it had happened often before. But the firm, set line of Percival's jaw, the soft concern in his eyes, told her he was certain in his decision. In any case, she could feel her eyelids drooping, and the throbbing in her side, previously ignorable, had been amped up to a searing, burning, repetitive slicing.

She felt herself being laid down, her head in Percival's lap. Her eyes drifted until they were closed, and it was too much of an effort to open them again. Her hair was brushed back off her face from where it had tumbled down. Gentle fingers combed through the knots in her hair, smoothing them all out until her hair cascaded down like silk. The simple motion nearly sent her to sleep, which at the point she would have gladly welcomed. Groggily, her moments sluggish and clumsy, Merlin fumbled for Percival's hand. Once he realised what she was attempting to do, he wrapped his fingers around her fist, and squeezed it gently.

With a small smile, Merlin leant further into his security and with a sense of safety and protection, fell into a fitful sleep.

_#mercival#mercival#mercival#mercival#mercival#merc ival#mercival#mercival_

When Merlin awakened a few hours later, it was fairly dark and she was being carried by sturdy arms through the forest. "Percival? Are we going back to Camelot?" Her words were quiet, and he didn't hear her. She repeated herself, louder this time.

"Yes – we've only been going for a few minutes though," Percival responded. "You've been asleep for about five hours." "Mm-kay," Merlin murmured agreeably. "Are we going straight to Gaius's chambers?"

"I thought that would be the best place to go first," Percival grunted. Merlin was light (perhaps too light) but underfoot it was jarring and rough, hard to walk on, so most of Percival's attention was focused on not stumbling.

"Yes, I can clean it and wrap it properly, I'll treat it with herbs later," Merlin said, more to herself than Percival. With an unspoken curse, Percival recalled that Gaius was absent until the next morning.

_#mercival#mercival#mercival#mercival#mercival#merc ival#mercival#mercival_

"Ah!" Merlin clenched her teeth together. "Damn," she whisper-shouted, bending over double. Percival hurried forward and straightened Merlin back up.

"Come on!" he encouraged. He pushed down on Merlin's hands using his, forcing pressure on the gash. Merlin whimpered and collapsed limply against Percival's chest. "Shush," he whispered softly, keeping one hand pressed over hers and rubbing her back with the other one. "I know it hurts, but you have to clean the wound."

"You do it!" Merlin sobbed. Every time a drop of hot water trickled into the cut, it felt like she was being pierced by the sharp metal again and her natural reaction was to yank her hand away.

Percival prised the cloth out of Merlin's hands. "If you want me too, then of course I'll do it." He caught her hands as she scrabbled to get away, having apparently changed her mind.

"No, Percival, don't, please don't!" Merlin begged. Percival kissed her on the cheek softly, and while she was still provisionally stunned, pulled the top up just enough to reach the wound. He began to wipe at the cut as gently as possible, but Merlin shrieked in pain and made a vain endeavour to push him away – vain because he had six times the strength she did, if not more.

"There," Percival said, after what seemed like an hour (in reality, it was only ten seconds, if that) to Merlin. "Can you bandage it or shall I?"

Merlin pointed towards him weakly and sat down carefully, folding the shirt up until it stayed up independently. She leant back on the chair, restless with agony.

Percival searched through shelves and cupboards full of medical supplies – he found herbs, poultices, potions, blankets, a human skull, but no bandages. "Damn," he muttered, moving to search the tabletops instead. Finally, buried under a pile of loose sheets of parchment – one of which was titled, intriguingly, 'Human Spleens' – he discovered a roll of clean, white linen. Not totally sure whether it was actually a bandage or not, Percival shrugged and jogged back to Merlin, whose eyes were closed and teeth were gritted.

"I need to do it tightly," Percival told her quietly, "so it's going to be uncomfortable, probably." After receiving no response from Merlin apart from a noise that could either be consent or rejection, Percival crouched down next to the serving girl. Tentatively, he unwrapped a couple of feet of the linen and held the end down on the side that wasn't wounded. Switching the bandage so he held it behind her back, to his left hand, Percival bound the material around her torso so that it went all the way around her stomach and covered the lesion securely. He worried that he was doing it too tight and asked Merlin whether she could still breathe fine. When she gave him no response, Percival stood, alarmed, and shook her shoulders until her eyes blinked open. "No, it's not too tight," was her answer when Percival repeated the question. Satisfied, he tied off the bandage and chucked the roll back onto the table and tugged Merlin's shirt back down for her. This time she had managed to keep her eyes open and held out her arms, silently requesting help to stand. Percival gripped her forearms and yanked her to her feet, maybe a little too zealously. Still weak, she fell onto his chest and they finished in some sort of strange hug. "Oh…sorry…" Percival murmured.

"It's fine," Merlin said breathlessly. She righted herself quickly, and after a moment of shuffling, when her feet tried to take her in two different directions, she hurried towards and out of the door, yelling, "Come on, Perc!" over her shoulder.

_#mercival#mercival#mercival#mercival#mercival#merc ival#mercival#mercival_

He supposed his parents had not yet even noticed his disappearance. He didn't mind – it was easier to escape this way. He accepted the saddled horse that a stable-hand offered him and mounted the stallion with a preoccupied mind. He had brought only clothes along with him on this trip, and a collection of daggers. He had enough with him so he could protect himself on the return home – he held no desire to murder anyone, but would if need be. It was perhaps two days' ride back to his castle – if he hurried, he could be out of Camelot before the plot was put into motion.

As he galloped through forestland, Dylan smiled broadly – he was free.

_A/N: I'm trying to get Mercival a thing._

_Reviews?_


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